Free WIFI? At what price

Surely on more than one occasion you have connected to a public, free and open Wi-Fi network, whether to save data, due to lack of coverage or simply because it is there and you want to enjoy free Wi-Fi. Normally these types of networks can be found today in shopping centers, cafes, restaurants, and even certain places in the city such as parks or hospitals.

It is always very tempting to connect to an open network, but it carries some risks.
In these public networks, without a password, the information and all the operations you perform are exposed to any “hacker” who wants to read it, that is, you are seriously endangering the security of your data, since hackers can access it very easily. to this type of connections and see your emails, WhatsApps and even banking passwords.
When we say that your data is exposed, we mean that the information travels through the network openly as there is no type of security on the network, therefore, the data can be read by anyone, from the administrator to any connected user. to network.
Likewise, your equipment could also be exposed, since it may be visible on the network and they could have access to the camera, files, favorites...
Cases of blackmail and harassment due to captures made from your own webcam or private information stolen from your computer are no longer science fiction, and with each passing day cybercriminals become more imaginative.

How can you protect yourself?

Prevention is your best weapon for safety. Normally, if you connect to networks in public places such as hotels, airports, libraries and other services, they are probably secure Wi-Fi networks. However, you are responsible for ensuring that your data is safe and while you are connected to this type of network, avoid, as much as possible, access to websites or apps with passwords, that is, banks, emails, profiles, etc Since anything you do connected to this type of network can be seen by sniffers, which are computer tools which allow the capture of the packets that circulate through the network, transmitted and received, and the visualization of them.
We also have to give great importance to passwords, you cannot have the same password for everything, since, if it were captured after a cyber attack, this person would then have access to all our data. That is why we recommend changing it periodically and, above all, not having the same password throughout.
As a last piece of advice, never carry out any procedure from a public network that you would not do in front of a stranger who could see what you are doing, in a more graphic way: It is like when you cover the ATM keyboard when you are going to enter the PIN to withdraw money .